Monthly Archives: July 2014

This is nothing new and has been performed since the 1800’s. It was a main staple for increasing circulation by what was called England’s Sensational Novel and News Press. Defamation by photo alteration or Photoshop has been done to many people alive and deceased. Some people were well known some not, some alterations were executed in fun, but others were not. Many people among both groups were victimized due to the use of an altered photo. CadeFlaw/AdLLaw has brought many examples of ways the deceased is defamed, but this is one which recently came to mind.

From the copious number of Media produced photos of Michael Jackson an abundance of them may not be genuine stills or accurately depict what was taking place. MJ, other people, locations and items were added or removed. People and items were re positioned or shot from unfavorable angles to distort. In one reported case the “Tabloids used a Michael Jackson impersonator” and in another a “cardboard cutout was used.” to create their much desired derisive photo.

What the average person now does with a camera and their Photoshop software the Tabloids, so called credible Media, Paparazzi and professional photographers have accomplished for decades.

An excellent example of defamation by photo alteration is the photo of MJ and Gavin. For years when necessary MJ Fans displayed the photo with Gavin’s face blurred, thinking it was the less offensive of the two, but that photo was altered to give MJ a sinister look and the two an air of intimacy. The Media displayed the blurred face photo on TV; News and Celebrity Gossip sites and in magazines. They cited the blurring was to protect Gavin’s identity while releasing his name and photos of his unprotected face in other reports.

Compare the two photos see how Michael Jackson’s mouth is curiously reshaped; there was a shading and heaviness applied to his brows; all which was meant to provoke suspicion and accelerate the building of injurious judgments about MJ. Look at the photo minus Gavin’s face blurred and you see the posture of the two says they were posed rather than natural or intimate.

This altering of photos is a psychological game played on us; a game which causes us to view and judge a person or situation without proper context. Put the blurred picture with any article or posted alone and it speaks, but the words are false. This is how the Media and persons on Social Media defame without speaking or writing one word.

Sources:

1. In the less than discerning book called “Tabloid Baby”. The author writes of his accounts as a one of the more infamous Tabloid Journalists before he decided to quit the business. The book is written on a style of “those were the good ole days”. In the book the author reminisces about when the Tabloids used a Michael Jackson impersonator for a particularly nasty story.